title: Combination of the serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 and carcinoembryonic antigen is a simple and accurate predictor of mortality in pancreatic cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to detect high-performance prognostic biomarkers of pancreatic cancer which would enable the identification of high-risk patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects were 324 patients who underwent radical surgery for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma without neoadjuvant therapy. We evaluated the prognostic impact of four perioperative serum tumor markers, including carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). We also evaluated the indices by multiplying the values of two tumor markers (e.g., CA19-9 × CEA).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The preoperative CA19-9 × CEA index had a strong correlation with the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer, even when the cut-off was set at the median value. CA19-9 × CEA ≥500 was an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio: 1.642, p = 0.021). In the ROC curve analysis of early mortality after surgery, the CA19-9 × CEA index had the highest goodness of fit. The presence of CA19-9 × CEA ≥500 had the largest attributable risk proportion because of its combined high predictive performance and prevalence. The postoperative CA19-9 × CEA index was also a significant predictive marker of mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CA19-9 × CEA index is a strong prognostic biomarker that could help identify pancreatic cancer patients expected to have a poor prognosis so that they can be administered appropriate multidisciplinary treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterological Surgery (Surgery II), Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kanda
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takami
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suenaga
authors.forename: Yoshikuni
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Inokawa
authors.forename: Suguru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Goro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nakayama
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koike
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nomoto
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kodera
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen